


Stay Together, Forever

by bittybae (piscespride)



Category: Long Exposure (Webcomic)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, mermaid au is my favorite au in the whole world
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-29
Updated: 2017-05-29
Packaged: 2018-11-06 12:19:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,829
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11036061
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/piscespride/pseuds/bittybae
Summary: He feels light, in a way he never has before and he knows it has nothing to do with the water, it all comes down to the beautiful spotted boy in his arms. He pushes his tail, curling it as he goes. Jonas lays on his stomach, head on Mitch’s shoulders and mouth pressing to the skin. He swims in a circle, everything he could ever need right there.





	Stay Together, Forever

The ocean is a scary place. Where you live requires planning, and depending on the location, a lot of building. Caves are the top choice -the only choice, really- but there are built structures that line the sandy floor held together with seaweed and kelp and well placed rocks. The latter isn’t very safe because of the Odd ones, the humans, with their weird two tailed selves, are always building stranger and stranger devices that come into their territory. Caves are much safer, can be protected with helpful sharks or coral.

 

Caves also mean no privacy. Which normally isn’t a problem, but for Jonas it is this time. He’s just grabbed his net sack to go explore the jagged rocks at the edge of the area for anything he can use to trade, or maybe keep for himself or Sidney or any of the other fosters Sue and Dean have taken in, when Sidney takes notice and glues herself to his side.

 

“I’m coming with!” She announces, hair tied back with thinned rope but still floating around her face. She has her net sack in hand and is already pulling him out of the cave, weaving around the jagged rock that blocks most of the entrance. Jonas goes willingly, not too upset at the lack of time by himself when it’s with his twin. They chat easily about what they might find, waving to neighbors that they pass and duck and weave around fish, chasing each other. Jonas and Sidney laugh as they play their games and hear someone calling for them, specifically Jonas. Sidney sighs as she recognizes who it belongs to.

 

“Jonas! Sidney! Wait up for me.” Madison swims over, her arowana tail swishing behind her. Her hair is back into a tight bun, and she has her own net sack in hand. “Where are we going today?” She smiles as she floats close to Jonas. Sidney shrugs, waving in the direction of their cave.

 

“Dean wants us to go see if we can find anything for trade purposes. He’s in one of his moods,” Sidney rolls her eyes. “Catch you later.” She waves as she turns around. Jonas is quick to follow after saying goodbye as well. “Glad we got out of that one.” Sidney snorts, bumping elbows with Jonas who sighs and playfully shoves her. “She just wanted to hang out, Sid!” His sister rolls her eyes and throws an arm over his shoulders, rubbing her knuckles against his wild hair, “Well too bad. It’s twin time. Now, let’s go find some cool shit!”

 

 

 

 

The rocks, surprisingly, are filled with all sorts of things. Every now and then it happens, giving Jonas a large selection of things to sort through and take back to the cave. Right now there’s a small shiny box, with colored lines and shapes on the top. Two strange square-like things cover the bottom side and when Jonas pushes them, the box springs open and sand drifts out. Jonas sneaks a look at Sidney, who’s currently investigating something that fell into a large crack. He places the box in his net sack and goes back to searching. He finds a small circle of fabric that stretches when he pulls on it (he gave that to Sidney to guess over), something he thinks is called a shoe, and a shiny circle that he’s sure he can get something good for.

 

It’s when he turns around to investigate a new patch of covered rocks that he sees it; a tail. From the distance he can see the tears in its fin when it passes through a patch of sunlit water and he shoves the excitement that blooms in his stomach away. Jonas tamps down on the grin threatening to run across his face and instead tries to focus on something he can give to Mitch. He’s just found a glittering chain, something that reminds him of the yellow or orange tails he’s seen others with, but not quite matching its look. It’s wedged pretty well into a split in the rock but Jonas isn’t giving up. Focusing on his task, he didn’t notice the figure swimming closer and closer.

 

“C’mon… just give it up!” He grumbles, using his claws to try and pick it out as he bent over close. Above him there was displacement in the water, the soft noise of water rushing past. Jonas looks up with a smile that falls when he comes face to face with a man. His skin is… sickly, is the only way Jonas can describe it. His body is marred with scars and cuts, and he’s missing an eye. Jonas can see the bones sticking out of his body and his teeth, bared in a grin, are stained red. It’s quiet, for a moment. Jonas isn’t moving, hands pressing against the stone, and from behind the shark Jonas sees Sidney turn to him. Her face drains of color and her mouth opens in a scream.

 

Jonas barely hears it, barely hearts his pounding heartbeat or his blood rushing. He isn’t given time to scream himself when the shark moves forward with a powerful swish of its tail. Jonas sees rows upon rows of teeth and closes his eyes, because he can’t make it through this, isn’t fast enough. If he’s lucky, he can make it into the small chasm in the rock, but there’s no guarantee that the shark won’t go after Sidney. She’s fast, but not that fast. With the shark eating Jonas, she can make it home.

 

Except, it’s not eating him. Now that Jonas thinks about it, the space in front of him feels empty and Sidney isn’t screaming any more. Jonas peaks an eye open and all he sees is the end of a striped tail with small tears in the fin, disappearing into the chasm. There’s a sudden wave that hits him as Sidney stops in front of him and it forces a flinch. He can’t hear what’s going on next to him but he can see the blood flowing from the hole. Sidney isn’t wasting precious time, hands running over Jonas’ face and arms, checking for bites or scratches. There’s a sudden agonized noise and they both look over, where the water turns red with the blood. There’s a hand that slaps against the top of the rock, and a figure pushing itself up. There’s a mop of hair and pale skin, and Jonas’ heart jumps into his throat. He can see blood mixing with the ocean and he rushes over, inspecting the bite, that’s rather small for what attacked him.

 

“Mitch? Mitch!” Jonas cries out as Mitch pushes himself up with crazed eyes and reaching for his face. Jonas distantly remembers that Mitch is a shark, who most likely just consumed a large amount of blood, and there is a very slow meal right in front of him. Jonas gulps, wincing at the claws that dig into his skin, and, of course, offering Mitch a nice taste of it.

 

Jonas trembles as Mitch’s grip is tighter, and their foreheads knock together when he leans in. “What the _fuck_ is wrong with you? You coulda fuckin’ died, Jonas!” His name sounds odd coming out of Mitch’s mouth. It’s always ‘Joey’ or ‘Spots’. Mitch inhales rapidly, and Jonas is shaken in his hold. “Huh, Jonas? You shoulda fuckin’ hid from him! _What the fuck were you thinking_?”

 

“I-I saw the tail. Looked like yours, it was torn. Thought it was you.” Jonas’ voice is small. His chest aches with the leftover terror and the look in Mitch’s eyes fades as he takes notice of Jonas. He stops holding Jonas so tight, putting some space between them as Sidney came over. She hugs Jonas tight, eyeing Mitch the whole time.  “You saved my brother,” She says, and Jonas can tell that even though she sounds indifferent she’s thankful, if the tight hug she hasn’t let him out of is to say anything. “I guess you’re not so bad, Mueller.” She nods a goodbye and grabs her net sack from where she threw it on the ground and leaves.

 

 

They sit in silence for a few moments before Mitch breaks it, with a voice so soft Jonas isn’t sure he was meant to hear. “You scared me, Joey.” He sounds so upset that Jonas swims over and wraps his arms around him. Mitch is tense under his touch for a few moments before relaxing, wrapping an arm around his waist and pulling him closer.

 

“What if I didn’t get to you in time?” Mitch’s voice is a whisper in his ear, shaky with nerves. Jonas isn’t planning on thinking about this any time soon, about the ‘what if’ scenario so he just squeezes Mitch tighter. He ignores how Mitch shakes, and how it’s probably not a good idea to let a shark so close to his face and neck after bleeding, but it’s Mitch. He trusts him, even if he isn’t sure when that happened (a week after they started hanging out, Mitch had chased off Neil and his gang from shoving Jonas into a cave that can probably just barely fit Scratch and escorted him back to his cave) but he knows Mitch will never hurt him.

 

Jonas catches sight of something glittering through the water. The chain! Jonas grins, pulling himself from Mitch’s arms and rushing over. The commotion got it out of the split! Jonas pulls it in his hands with a triumphant grin, spinning back to Mitch. He’s staring at Jonas with confusion, maybe even a little hurt as he curls his arms around himself.

“I have a gift for you!” He swims back, carefully sliding the chain over Mitch’s head. It floats from his neck but doesn’t go far. Mitch looks down and toys with the chain for a moment before smiling at Jonas, small and sweet. Jonas’ heart soars and he smiles back.

Mitch grabs his hand and pulls him from the rocks, swimming slowly. His tail is still injured but as Jonas tries to lead him to a patch of seaweed close by he waves him off, leading him in the opposite direction.

 

Mitch takes the front to lead, and Jonas is happy to see that Mitch isn’t bleeding as badly as he was before. Jonas can’t keep track of where they pass by, and he has know idea how Mitch can figure out how to get wherever they’re going. Whatever the way to get here, is worth it for what Jonas sees. The entrance to the cave is small, enough to keep out the bigger predators. He eagerly swims inside, leaving Mitch behind as he investigates. Rocks have been moved in, creating spaces to sit or lay on, as well as whatever the humans lost to the waves. Jonas sees a pair of sunglasses sitting on the floor, the lens cracked in the middle, and a few colorful additions to fishing hooks hanging from points on the ceiling.

 

“Mitch, this is amazing!” Jonas laughs, swimming over to a rock that’s to the side of the entrance. He’s pleasantly surprised at the feel of it, soft against his skin. It’d be better on land, where Jonas could bask in the sun, but it’s nice here too.

 

Mitch swims by him and catches Jonas by the arm, tugging him towards a hole at the side, pointing into it.

 

“You gotta swim through here and keep going. It’s fuckin’ awesome, Joey.” Mitch sounds excited, herding him into the hole and Jonas is suspicious, but he goes anyway. Mitch is close behind, teasing him with teeth against his tail. He swims faster, laughing as Mitch swears at the sudden push of water against his face and goes to catch up, calling at him as he chases Jonas.

Swimming faster, Jonas reaches the end of the tunnel and, with great surprise, notices it branches out to a large pool of water as he breaches the top. “Oh! Oh, wow.” He breathes, rotating to see everything. The cave is deep, but the opening to it is right at the edge of the pool, the sun shining into it and warming the rocks. Jonas eagerly pushes out of the water, flopping around on the heated surface until he was curled up and facing Mitch with a wide smile.  “I can’t believe how cool this is! How did you find it?” Jonas asks, reaching out to dip his fingers in the water and watch the ripples.

“I dunno. Was fuckin’ around one night a while back, and found the place below. I didn’t notice the tunnel until a few days ago. It seemed like a good place to chill.” He shrugs, swimming over to Jonas and crossing his arms on the rock. “I’m glad you brought me here, I haven’t had the chance to sit in the sun for a while.” He sighs happily, directing a blinding smile to his friend, who clears his throat with another shrug and looks away, mumbling. Jonas bites his lip, staring at Mitch as he avoided eye contact. He pushes over and presses his lips to his cheek, holding there for a few seconds before breaking away and turning on his side with an embarrassed blush, his back facing Mitch. It’s silent for a few moments, before Jonas hears the water splashing as Mitch pushes out, a wet hand slapping at the side of his head, the other following shortly after. Jonas barely has the chance to look at Mitch before a mouth is covering his.

Jonas stills, hands at his side with palms wide open, unsure of what to do as the boy above lowers himself on his forearms, a hand coming up to hold Jonas’ cheek. Mitch’s lips are soft against his own, moving in a way that reminds Jonas of the waves when a storm is slowly brewing and he finds himself lost in the motion. His hands rest under Mitch’s arms, sliding around to his back and holding him. There’s a tongue sliding along the seam of his mouth and he’s helpless to it, lips parting to allow Mitch to explore at his heart’s desire. It slides along the roof of his mouth, forcing Jonas to pull away to laugh at the tickling sensations.

 

Mitch doesn’t stop for long, brushing a kiss to the corner of Jonas’ lips and making his way down, teeth skimming along his jaw and nipping into his neck. Jonas might be scared, if he didn’t notice how gently Mitch did it, careful not to break the skin but just enough to leave a mark for a few minutes. Jonas shudders with each one, a hand coming around to slide into Mitch’s dripping hair and holding gently.

 

Mitch bites his way across his collar, moving to the other side to give Jonas a necklace of marks that, sadly, would fade by the time he was home. The tugging of his hair brought him face to face with Jonas, pulling him back into an open mouthed kiss that left Mitch breathless. He can’t tell you how long they kissed and left marks, but he knows it was a long time when Mitch’s breathing was rattled and wheezy.

 

“Mitch!” Jonas cries out, shoving him off and into the water. The look on Mitch’s face as he lands back into the cold ocean is comical, and Jonas is quick to follow him. Jonas swims up to him, hands wrapping around his frame as he frowns and hangs close. “Oh, Mitch, I’m sorry. Are you okay?” Jonas asks, pressing gentle kisses to Mitch’s face.

Mitch snorts, inhaling deeply and letting it out as he nips at Jonas’ lips when they travel close to his. “I’ve never felt better in my entire life, Spots.” He grins, smug and big, eyes half lidded and looking at Jonas so softly, it makes his heart pound so loud against his chest, He’s sure that Mitch can feel it against his own. Mitch breaks the hold on him easily, wrapping his arms around his waist and lifting him up to swirl in place. “Stop!” Jonas laughs, ducking his head down to bury his face against Mitch’s water tangled strands.

 

Mitch slows to a stop, holding Jonas tight to his front. He feels light, in a way he never has before and he knows it has nothing to do with the water, it all comes down to the beautiful spotted boy in his arms. He pushes his tail, curling it as he goes. Jonas lays on his stomach, head on Mitch’s shoulders and mouth pressing to the skin. He swims in a circle, everything he could ever need right there.

 

“Wouldn't it be nice to stay here forever?” Jonas’ voice is quiet as he asks, sleepy almost, lips brushing against him.

Mitch kisses his forehead, mumbling into his hair, “Maybe someday. Make it our own, yeah?" His only answer is a smile that he can't see, but feels.

**Author's Note:**

> If you enjoyed this fic, maybe leave a kudos and a comment? I'd appreciate it :)
> 
> If you'd like updates on any new fics in the making, or want another Long Exposure blog to follow, I'm at [mitchjonas](https://mitchjonas.tumblr.com)


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